4th Wall!

[goldenglasses]

[Vash was trying to just get from his house to the bakery in town, but he was noticing this was a little more difficult than normal today. Luceti in fact seemed a little... crowded.]

Opps! Excuse me! Pardon me! AH! Sorry was that your foot! Sorry! Sorry! Didn't mean that! OW! That was MY foot!

[Maybe he'll eventually get to the bakery... maybe.]

Comments

[returntoeven]

[ He doesn't want to think on it. He really, truly doesn't. ]

They won't.

[goldenglasses]

You can't predict what the Malnosso will do. So what if they do, Knives? What then?

[returntoeven]

It won't concern you.

[goldenglasses]

If you plan to ruin the life I've made here then I think it does concern me.

[returntoeven]

And what life is that, Vash? One where you can frolic and play with your pet humans anytime you please?

You already achieved that, last I remember, so why don't you leave me and tend to them, like you so obviously want to.

[ Nope, he's not bitter. Not even a little bit. ]

[goldenglasses]

They are not my pets they are my friends and my equals.

[returntoeven]

[ Oh, that does it.

A flurry of razors erupts out of his left arm, brilliant and deadly, a reflection of his mood.

The tone he takes, is a low, infuriated hiss. ]

Get out of my sight.

[goldenglasses]

[Vash holds his ground. He wants to run, knowing that he can't compete with this Knives as he is, but he can't. He just can't run. It would almost be as if he was saying Knives was right.]

I can't.

[returntoeven]

[ It would be so much easier to just cut him down and be done with it -- easier still if Vash would stop being such a damned fool and take a hint. He's tired, his life is over, and he's sick of dealing with the same fucking idiocy everywhere he goes.

His scowl deepens, his arm practically crackling with the power he's emitting. ]

You're a fool.

[ Turning on his heel, he stalks away, still 'feathering' due to sheer agitation. ]

[goldenglasses]

Knives... [He lets whatever he was going to say fall away. No matter what he would say wouldn't matter right now. Knives was too angry to listen.]

[returntoeven]

[ It takes a long time for him to calm down, but after separating himself for hours and keeping to the solitude of Luceti's woodland, eventually his anger fades. He wanders for a good while, but eventually he pauses, looking at the wintery surroundings. He's seen snow before, but the filth of the City often ruined it.

Thoughtful now as opposed to angry, he lays a gloved hand lightly on the trunk of an aged tree. It's girth is greater than he is, and there's a quiet strength to it that seems to emanate from its bark. So much life, even in the dead of winter.

He wonders how they manage it. ]

[goldenglasses]

[Knives may not be surprised when after a couple hours Vash starts to come closer. He comes through the trees holding a winter coat and hat in his hand.]

If you're going to sit outside for hours you should at least bring a cot with you.

[returntoeven]

[ He senses the other drawing near (different yet so very much the same) but doesn't move away. He waits, unmoving until Vash actually speaks. ]

It doesn't bother me.

[ Or not enough to make him complain about it at any rate. He glances at the things Vash has brought. ]

You didn't have to.

[goldenglasses]

Yeah, well, can't have you freezing out here. [Tossing it to you. He really doesn't care if you want to use it or not. His conscious is at least clear by bringing it to you.]

[returntoeven]

[ He catches it without much thought, a reflex and another more. He doesn't put it on, doesn't really want to look so 'domestic'.

Still.

Tucking the coat under his arm, he glances at his brother briefly, his left hand still resting on the tree. ]

Come here.

[ It's a request more than a demand, his demeanor oddly subdued. In this, at least, his intentions aren't violent. ]

[goldenglasses]

[Vash hesitates a moment. He weights his options, but Knives doesn't seem too hostile right now so he slowly approaches. He's still a little tense as he comes closer, keeping a close eye on his brother.]

[returntoeven]

[ He looks at his brother, his expression difficult to decipher. Not hostile, not kind (he's never really that), but...considering.

His hand still doesn't move. ]

Touch it.

[ Yes, Vash, your brother is telling you to touch a tree. Just go with it. ]

[goldenglasses]

[Uh, alright. He does this all the time since coming here. So there's no problem with that. He touches the tree, keeping both un-trusting eyes on his brother.]

[returntoeven]

[ He waits, searching his brother's eyes for a moment, the truth there all but expected. He's given Vash plenty of reasons to be twitchy around him, he knows. Even so, the ice needs to be broken sooner or later, and he thinks, maybe, this might do it.

Lifting his hand briefly away from the tree, he covers Vash's hand with his own, a quiet sort of warmth emanating from it as he does so. It's neither harsh nor threatening, merely something that is -- a talent all their siblings share, though he rarely ever uses it. ]

Listen.

[ Beneath the crusty bark, there's life there, a strong pulse unbroken by winter's chill. He can sense it, the quiet beat of it reverberating in his bones. He could change it in an instant if he wanted to, but right now, he'll settle for his brother seeing a little more. ]

[goldenglasses]

[He forces himself not to flinch as Knives moves his hand over his. Still waiting for whatever it was that Knives had up his sleeve. Vash was confused, nothing about Knives seemed threatening at the moment. He actually looked like the brother he had once loved grown up for once.

But he wasn't going to be fooled! He wasn't going to fall for the act! He had trusted his brother one too many times before and it had always ended in-

What... what was this warmth? It felt... nice. He had always felt the life within the trees and plants around him, but never quiet like this. Yet, it felt natural. It felt right.

For a moment he forgets about the brother who has tried and almost succeeded to throw him into a living hell. Instead shutting his eyes and letting the life of the tree wash over him.]

[returntoeven]

[ Things change when you spend nearly two years in a strange world after you've already died. He doesn't love humanity, never will regard them as anything more than trash, but at the very least, he's learned how to tolerate them. There have been exceptions, times when his own mood has been so volatile that he hasn't been able to contain it, but logically, he knows his battle, his life, has already ending. Going out of his way to torment his brother over them simply isn't feasible or comfortable anymore.

Watching in silence as his brother's face relaxes, he stares at him for long moment before turning his eyes back to the hands. This is how it always should have been, the two of them together, building a world for their siblings. If not for humanity, if not for her...well. It's pointless to speculate now.

He waits a little longer, letting Vash truly grasp when he's showing him, with quietly withdrawing his hand. The glow fades, the expression on his face almost solemn, though still he says nothing at all. ]

[goldenglasses]

[As the warm glow leaves, Vash remembers the threat standing next to him. He opens his eyes and looks at his brother once again. Only he's softer this time, not exactly trusting, but a little softer either way.]

How... how did you learn that? [There weren't exactly a lot of tree to practice on from Gunsmoke.]

[returntoeven]

I learned from a geo-plant.

[ Many years ago, when he was still young and learning about their abilities, it's one of the few things in his turbulent life that gave a sense of peace, however short-lived it was. ]

There was no one there to tend her so I visited to keep her company.

After a few conversations, she taught me what she knew.

[goldenglasses]

[...] Why was there no one there to tend her? [A Plant is an important part of survival for the people of Gunsmoke. Vash has trouble believing one would be neglected in such a way.]

[returntoeven]

The chamber that housed her was separated from the ship during the crash.

[ His fault, his responsibility -- he acknowledges that now. ]

She was alone.